Population Structure Age and Sex Age Structure The

Population Structure Age and Sex

Age Structure � The way people are distributed across age groups within a population.

� The age structure reflects birth, death and life expectancy rates in population. � Planners need information about age structure because people at different ages have different needs.

� If there is a large number of young people, there is a need for; ü day care services ü schools ü child welfare programmes � If there is a large number of people over 65 years, there is a need for; ü more investment in health care, social welfare services and private insurances ü clothing and shoes suited for the elderly

The Dependency Ratio � The proportion of a population that is economically dependent on the economically active members of a population.

Three categories of people based on age; � Children: under 15 years of age (young economically dependent) � Youth and middle aged: aged 15 – 64 (economically active) � The elderly: age 65 and older (economically dependent) The number of people in each age category enables us to work out the dependency ratio for a population.

Calculating the dependency ratio �

Example � A country has 360 000 young economically dependent people, 472 500 economically dependent people and 1 667 500 economically active people. Determine the dependent ratio of the country.

For low income countries; ü The dependency ratio is from 70% and above For medium income countries; ü The dependency ratio is between 50% and 70% Form high income countries; ü The dependency ratio is 50% or less

Sex Structure � Refers to the number of males and females in different age groups. � In any age group, the sex ratio is the number of males for each female.